Meteor shower
by lovelyverdigris
Summary: When Remus takes Lily up to the astronomy tower at midnight, James begins to suspect...[Slightly fluffy oneshot]


Disclaimer: Who do I look like, J.K. Rowling?

James Potter and Sirius Black stood waiting in the shadows for the last few teachers to pass. They wore the invisibility cloak, but it was still too much of a risk. Finally, little Professor Flitwick came around the corner, and midnight began to chime. The two boys dashed down the corridor and up the spiral stairs to the astronomy tower. The stairs seemed to go on and on when they were going up alone, unable to speak, and without fellow classmates to complain with about the late hours, about teachers, and about school in general. Sirius stopped for a moment and took a few deep breaths.

"James," he said, "let's just go back. This is pointless!"

"No," James replied, "it isn't. I have to know if anything is going on between-"

"You don't honestly think…look," said Sirius, shaking his head, "we could just _ask_ Remus. I'm sure he'd tell us. It just doesn't feel right, spying on him like this."

"I know," James said, "I know. But I need to find out. We're almost there now-look-" James pointed upwards. Sirius craned his neck back and sure enough, just a few yards above where the two stood, there was a landing lit by a single torch. The door stood ajar. James and Sirius crept silently up the remainder of the stairs and through the door.

The room was lit by a small fire in a jar, bright despite its size. All of the desks had been pushed off to one side, leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room. In this space sat Remus Lupin, a tall thin boy who was one of Sirius and James' best friends, and with him, Lily Evans. She was a delicate girl, with radiant red hair, sparkling green eyes, and a dazzling smile. And despite how he tried to hide it, the entire school knew that James fancied her.

The pair sat together, both of their heads tilted back and gazing through the clear glass ceiling, pointing out different stars and constellations to each other. James and Sirius snuck in quietly and sat down beside Remus. Whether they had made any noise they did not know; neither Remus nor Lily said anything about it, and both's gaze remained firmly skyward.

"First, you find the big dipper," Lily was saying, and pointed, "and you follow the line made by the end of the bowl, and there's Polaris, see?" She traced the line in the sky with her finger, and Remus nodded. He also pointed.

"See those three bright stars? That's Orion's Belt," said Remus, "and over there is Betelgeuse, and Sirius B." Lily laughed. "They're both blue-white supergiants," he continued, "and I find that hilarious because Sirius A is a white dwarf." Lily and Remus laughed together for a moment, and lapsed into thoughtful silence. Lily drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on Remus' shoulder.

"Cold?" Remus asked her.

"A little."

Remus reached behind him, grabbed his navy blue cloak, and wrapped it around Lily. He also draped one of is arms around Lily's shoulder. James' jaw dropped.

"Tired?" Remus asked.

"Mmm."

Slowly, her breathing evened out. Remus sat stiffly, with Lily sleeping lightly on his shoulder, his eyes still gazing upward. He sat that way for a good fifteen minutes or so, when suddenly,

"Lily," he whispered, shaking her shoulder slightly, "Look." Lily blinked sleepily, looked up, and gasped.

"Oh, Remus," she said breathlessly, "It's beautiful!" James and Sirius, under the cloak, also looked through the ceiling. All they could see were quick streaks of light moving across the star field-a meteor shower. James and Sirius glanced at each other for a moment, and burst out laughing.

"Excuse me for a moment," Remus said to Lily. He stood up, consulted a piece of parchment, put out a hand, and yanked the cloak off Sirius and James. The two boys sat together, laughing heartily. Remus stood over them menacingly, but they took no notice. James took off his glasses and began cleaning on the hem of his sweatshirt.

"You two," he said to Remus with a sunny smile, "have got to be the only two people in the school that actually use the astronomy tower for astronomy." He went on laughing. Sirius began banging his head repeatedly on James' shoulder. James put his glasses back on and grinned up at Remus.

"Just one question, then," said Remus, "What the BLOODY HELL are you two doing here!"

"What do you think we're doing?" Sirius said, standing, "When someone takes James' girlfriend up to a famous school-wide snog site, what did you think we were going to do, sit in the common room and listen to James' jealous rants all night?" Lily bit her knuckles to suppress a laugh.

"What? First of all, mate," James began indignantly, "I do not rant."

"Yes you do."

"Shut up, Sirius. Second, she," James nodded towards Lily, "is NOT my girlfriend." _Yet_, he added mentally.

"Fine then," Lily said, moving so close to James that their noses almost touched, "Let me clarify for you. Remus brought me up here to show me _that_." She gestured toward the ceiling; the meteor shower was still going on.

"I thought she'd appreciate it," Remus added. He put a hand on Lily's shoulder. She backed up, still glaring at James, and Remus continued. "I know what you two are thinking, but there is nothing, I repeat _nothing_, going on between Lily and I. Honestly-you should have _asked_ me." Sirius coughed, which vaguely sounded like "told you…" Remus turned away and began to pick up his astronomy equipment, with Sirius in tow. James took a deep breath, ruffled his hair, and pulled Lily aside.

"Hey, Evans…er…Lily…I'm sorry about tonight. I didn't mean-oh, I dunno," said James with a sigh, "I guess I was just jealous. I'll make it up to you in any way I can. Do you think you can forgive me?" Lily surveyed James' face. His head was tilted forward slightly, and his dark hair fell into his downcast eyes. He did look truly sorry. Lily's expression softened.

"Of course I do," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "how couldn't I?" James looked up. Their eyes met, and James' crooked grin began to form.

"So," James said lazily, "now that that's settled, would you like to go into Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" Lily laughed.

"I would love to," Lily replied. James looked at her thoughtfully.

"You know," he said, with complete sincerity, "You're cute when you smile."

She looked at him with new eyes, and was incredibly pleased with what she saw. Intoxicated by this new point of view, she had no idea what she was doing, or why. She just grabbed him…and kissed him. He stiffened for a moment, surprised, and then kissed her back, as if he had been expecting it all along. They were both lost in the kiss, in each other. _Wonderful_, Lily thought, _this is wonderful_…

They broke apart; Lily took a small step backwards and looked at James. She felt her knees wobble. She stumbled into James. He put his arms around her.

"It's your first, isn't it," James whispered into Lily's ear. She looked up at him.

"First…what?"

"First kiss."

Lily didn't know how to respond, so she stayed silent. James smiled secretively.

"Mine, too," he said quietly, "mine, too."

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I don't believe it."

"Believe it." They laughed together quietly. The light began to dim; Remus had begun to put out the small fire. James held out his arm to Lily.

"So," James said, "wouldst my lady accompany me back to Gryffindor Tower?"

"But-what about Remus and Sirius," Lily said, a note of concern in her voice, "how will they get back?" James laughed.

"Don't worry," he said, "They're marauders. They have the map. Besides, you two got up here, didn't you?"

"I suppose…" Lily took James' arm. James turned around and winked broadly at his fellow marauders. Then he drew the invisibility cloak up around himself and Lily, slid a triumphant arm around her waist, and started down the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

**--------**

A/N: Okay, now the big question is: should this stay a one-shot, or should I continue it? Let me know what you think!


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